Author: Dan Rose

It’s music to our ears.

Borough President Melinda Katz announced last Thursday that Queens College is among the recipients of funding allocated to the four CUNY schools in the borough.

The $1 million investment will be used for the construction of recording studios for the new Music and Production Certificate program at the college. The new studios will provide multi-use facilities that can be used for classes, rehearsals and as a performance space.

The project will also provide the proper acoustical components, sound absorbers and diffusers, according to Katz’s office. The anticipated completion date is January 2019.

 

“As the third-largest university system in the United States, CUNY offers a high-quality and remarkably affordable and competitive higher education that enables the pursuit of the American Dream,” Katz said in a statement. “This multi-million dollar allocation of public funding is a direct investment into the public colleges of our borough so that CUNY remains able to meet the educational needs of its hard-working students.”

In total, Katz’s office allocated $3.64 million that will also go to York College in Jamaica, LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City and Queensborough Community College in Bayside.

He’s been here less than a month, but James Loney is already starting to explore Queens.

The Mets new first baseman, acquired in late May to take over duties for the injured Lucas Duda, took a trip to the zoo with fellow Met Matt Reynolds. They joined students from P.S. 143 in Corona.

Together, the visitors made enrichment buckets for the zoo’s Andean bears. The buckets were filled with frozen watermelon slices and other delicious fruits.

Later, the group visited the farm area to learn more about horses and other domestic animals. The event was part of “Amazin’ City,” where Mets players take NYC students to landmarks and cultural institutions.

Ever wanted to grace the tennis court at the U.S. Open?

Here’s your chance. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is looking for 80 ball persons for the 2016 U.S. Open this summer at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing.

USTA estimates there will be 350 people competing for those slots, each evaluated for their running, throwing and catching skills.

Only people ages 14 and up can apply. Participants can register on-site on Thursday, June 23 at 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.usopen.org/ballperson.

An heated dispute got out of hand, leading to a man being slashed in the neck.

Police say on April 11, Da Bao Huang approached a 40-year-old male victim inside Wai Lou Restaurant, located at 135-21 40th Road. The two engaged in a verbal argument.

Huang then pulled out a knife and slashed the victim in the neck and right hand. The unidentified victim walked over to an area hospital on his own, where he was treated for lacerations to his neck and hand.

Police are still seeking more information about the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or submit tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM.

Calling all educators, service providers, social workers, school professionals and community-based organizations!

Here’s your chance to partake in an anti-discrimination clinic that will equip you with the tools to better help youth and families in your communities.

Project Reach, a community organization that has held anti-discrimination and social justice training for 35 years, is hosting a Queens-wide workshop clinic to address issues of bullying, bias and discrimination.

This 6-hour, participant-centered training will also confront identity destruction, inter-group conflict, community disempowerment. Project Reach invites individuals and organizations that want to end discrimination and injustice and institutionalize substantive and sustainable cultural change.

The Queens clinic will be at Flushing Library, located at 41-17 Main Street, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m.

To register online, visit bit.ly/QnClinic2016. Deadline is today, June 8.

For more information, contact Don Kao at donkao@projectreachnyc.org.

Police say a man stole about 100 articles of clothing from The Children’s Place store located at 40-24 College Point Boulevard on May 27.

According to authorities, the suspect walked in at about 9:45 a.m. and placed all of the clothing inside a black plastic bag. He walked out of the store without paying for any of the merchandise.

Police describe the suspect as a 25 to 30-year-old man with a beard. He was last seen wearing a blue and red shirt with camouflaged pants.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or submit tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM

On June 10, Grammy Award-nominated NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath will return to Flushing Town Hall for a performance that will excite music lovers.
The musician, who will turn 90 years old in October, is set to perform a concert honoring his friend and mentor, John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie. In “Dizzy Revisited,” Heath and the Queens Jazz Orchestra will play some of the trumpeter’s biggest hits such as “Groovin’ High” and “A Night in Tunisia.”
Gillespie, originally from South Carolina, became the face of bebop and modern jazz in the 1940s. His beautiful and complex music influenced trumpeters such as Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Arturo Sandoval and Clifford Brown.
Gillespie, Heath and the legendary Louis Armstrong lived near to each other in Corona during their careers.
Originally from Philadelphia, Heath has been performing jazz music since the 1940s after he was rejected from the World War II draft for being underweight. In 1975, he and his brothers formed a band called Heath Brothers. Besides working with Armstrong and Gillespie, Heath has played alongside Davis, John Coltrane and Wynton Marsalis throughout his career.
During his last performance at Flushing Town Hall in November, Heath was joined by Michael Mossman on the trumpet, Steve Davis on the trombone, Al Foster on the drums and Bob Cranshaw on the bass. Together, the five men performed classic hits, including songs from Davis and Cannonball Adderley.
It’s surprising to hear that although he’s been performing for decades, Heath finds it to be a constant struggle.
“You always have to be your best and present music that is understood by your audience without watering your own concept too much,” he said. “You have to find a happy medium of presenting music that you think is good plus what the audience wants.”
The Queens Jazz Orchestra members include musicians such as Antonio Hart, Mark Gross, Bobby LaVell, Charles Davis, Gary Smulyan, John Mosca, Steve Davis, Jason Jackson, Douglas Purviance, Frank Greene, Michael Mossman, Greg Gisbert, Freddie Hendrix, Jeb Patton, David Wong and Evan Sherman.
Many of the Queens Jazz Orchestra members are also members of the Jimmy Heath Big Band. In fact, two of the orchestra’s members are Antonio Hart, a professor of jazz studies, and Mossman, the director of jazz studies, both at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. In the 1980s, Heath was a professor at the school and was one of the individuals to spearhead the creation of a jazz program at the college. Hart was one of Heath’s students.
Tickets for the concert can be found at Flushingtownhall.org. Tickets are $42 per person, $32 for members and $20 for students.

Flushing Optical is offering up to 30% off their products, in celebration of their 30 year anniversary.

As the first retail store under the Mott Optical Group umbrella, Flushing Optical has been serving Flushing, and greater Queens for 30 years.

Located at 37-29 Main St. in Flushing, Flushing Optical has been providing elite eye care and style consultation through a wide variety of frames and professional services.

Their beautiful, clean store environment ensures that customers will have a enjoyable experience in the store.

Whether you need a comprehensive eye exam, want to learn about the latest eyeglasses/sunglasses trends, or you need a glasses adjustment; Flushing Optical’s professional, friendly staff would love to assist you.

 

Authorities say two children, ages 8 and 11 at the time, were forced to work and turn over salaries to their host family in America all while sleeping on the floor and providing massages.

Sook Yeong Park, 49, and Jeong Taek Lee, 53, both of 196 Street in Flushing, Queens, were indicted this week on charges of second-degree grand larceny, labor trafficking, endangering the welfare of a child, second- and third-degree assault, forcible touching, petit larceny and first degree criminal contempt.

According to the charges, the two victims, a bother and sister, were brought to the United States from their native Korea around January 2010 and stayed with Park and Lee. After arriving, the female child had her passport confiscated and was forced to work for at least 10 hours every day after school, providing Park with foot massages, manicures and pedicures and doing housework, the charges state.

The female victim was reportedly forced to sleep on the floor in a small closes, while the male victim was forced to sleep on the floor. The children were also allegedly physically assaulted and sexually touched for the purpose of degrading and abusing them.

Queens County District Attorney Richard Brown also stated that Park and Lee forced the children to work outside jobs and turn over all their wages because their parents in Korea were allegedly not sending any money. In reality, the parents had sent over $100,000, all of which was taken by Park and Lee.

“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing and even more upsetting considering the young ages of the alleged victims,” Brown said. “According to the charges, the defendants cut off all contact between the two young victims and their parents in Korea, held them hostage in their home by seizing their passports, forced them to do household chores well into the night and to work outside of the home and turn over all their earnings. In return, the victims were allegedly given space to sleep on the floor without a mattress. In the older child’s case, the space allegedly was in a closet.”

The incident first came to light when the children reported the abuse to school officials.

If convicted, both individuals face up to 15 years in prison.

 

Assemblywoman Nily Rozic joined Deputy Mayor Richard Buery to tour the Jack’n Jill School II, located at 68-05 Fresh Meadows Lane, last Friday.

They visited on the last day of pre-k enrollment for the Fall 2016 school year. Friday also marked the end of the second round of the application process.

Rozic and Buery spoke to teachers and administrators, as well as currently enrolled pre-k students.

The Jack’n Jill School II is a pre-K program that supports community needs and creates positive classroom culture based on family collaboration and community partnership, according to Rozic’s office.